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Herb Propagation
Herb propagation is fairly straight forward. Many herbs can be grown from seed. A simple way of increasing your stocks of herbs is by taking cuttings. If you're looking to grow herbs for profit, then this is a technique you need to work on. You can increase your stock year on year this way using herb plants you already have in your garden or ones you buy from the garden center. The best plants for this way of herb propagation are perennial, shrubby type herbs - lavender, thyme, sage, rosemary etc. It is possible for you take cuttings of annuals or biennials, but there's not much point as they are more suited to growing from seed. To take a cutting, select a non flowering, healthy stem. Take a sharp knife or secateurs and gut it towards the base. Trim the cuttings down to about 3 inches (75cm). Cut just beneath a pair of leaves where the rooting hormones are concentrated. Take off the lower leaves - about a third of the way up - just use your fingers to pinch them off. Take a plant pot and fill with compost mixed with grit - water it well and allow it to drain. Place the cuttings close to the edge of the pot - leave about an inch or so in between. You can either place these cuttings in a heated propataor or use a plastic bag to create a mini greenhouse. Simply wrap a large clear bag around the pot and secure with an elastic band. alternatively, use a plastic drinks bottle - 2 litre size and cut in half - to make a 'top'. Leave for a few weeks or so until the cuttings have rooted. Just wait until you see the first roots appear at the hole in the bottom of the pot. Carefully tap out the cuttings and then pot them into individual pots. The plants will need a bit of tender loving care for the first season - they will be quite established to sell on the following year. Remember that selling herbs or any plants for profit, is a long term project - just be patient.
For an explanation of gardening terms that you might not understand, please check out the Growers Dictionary section. I found that I was either skimping on explanations or giving too much information on the individual pages so I have posted all relevant terms in one section - if there's anything you need to know, please drop me an email.
Herb Propagation - to Growing Herbs
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